


Five Times Sylar Almost Told Peter He Loved Him and One Time He Did

by lornrocks



Category: Fandom: Heroes
Genre: 5+1, Apples, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Romance, Slash, fiveplusone, homeoerotic tension, roofsitting, season4, thefuture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 05:55:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/858606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lornrocks/pseuds/lornrocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Read the title.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Sylar Almost Told Peter He Loved Him and One Time He Did

Five Times Sylar Almost Told Peter He Loved Him and the One Time He Did

5\. When Sylar realized he loved Peter, he was sitting cross legged on the ground, staring at that stupid wall and feeling just a little hopeless.

A gentle tap on his shoulder, and the next thing he knows, a heavy object is dropped into his lap. Unwrapping the newsprint, he finds a beat up copy of _Pillars of the Earth_ , just like the one he was reading before it fell apart.

Peter dances around the real reason he brought the book to the other man, but Sylar doesn't mind. He smiles and looks up at his companion with shining eyes.

The first thing that comes to mind isn't thank you.

It's "I love you".

But Sylar knows if he tells Peter that, Peter will just run away as soon as they're out of there. Go back to where he came from, leaving Sylar to spend the rest of his days alone in his own head.

Like he was before Peter came for him.

So instead, he looks down and mumbles, "That's very kind of you Peter, thank you."

Peter turns back towards the wall and Sylar knows he lost his chance to say anything.

4\. The next time, they're at the Carnival, about to separate to meet their destinies (or some other dramatic phrasing like that, since these things are always so overdramatic). Peter's staring forward like someone just kicked his puppy.

Sylar shakes his head and smiles.

"Your dream says I save her. Go find Samuel, I'll save Emma."

He wants to add, _"I'll find her because I want to do it for you. Because I love you."_

But he doesn't.

Of course.

Instead, he lays a tentative hand on the other's chest and smiles, "Trust me."

He walks away before he can see the look on Peter's face.

3\. He ends up staying with Peter after the whole Claire incident. They don't talk about it. They try to avoid the media.

Mostly, they hide out in Peter's apartment, reading (on Sylar's part) and thinking (on Peter's part).

One particular night, Sylar falls asleep in the armchair. When he wakes up, Peter is nowhere to be found. It's not hard to figure out where he must be, though, because whenever the youngest Petrelli is upset, he always heads up to the highest place he can find. Which, in their case, is the roof of their apartment building.

Peter doesn't turn to look as Sylar sits down on the ground next to him, leaning against the wall.

"Do you remember when me from the future came here?" he asks, and Sylar nods.

"Yeah," he replies, not sure where this is going.

"He took me to the future that he's from. It was horrible." Peter's gaze flickers from the sky to his shoes.

"It's going to happen now, and it will be horrible. The world will be torn apart."

The other man thinks for a moment. This is what has been bothering Peter this whole time. He's seen first hand what horrors are going to arise from Claire's little stunt.

Biting his lip, Sylar reaches up and tilts Peter's head up so he's looking at him and not at his shoes.

"So much has changed since then. The future is sure to have changed from the one you were in. Right? People died, people lived, The whole carnival thing. Everything is different now."

Peter's gaze locks with his for a moment before Peter pulls his head away and tries to look elsewhere.

"It will happen. I don't want to become so cold, so...evil." His voice sounds strained. "I don't want you to blow yourself up after some rogue government agents kill your son."

The man in question's eyes widen.

"What?"

Peter shakes his head.

"It's not important. You're going to settle down in some house and have kids and have a normal life. I'm going to get shot by my own niece. The end."

Peter's shoulders start to shake minutely and Sylar realizes that he's crying.

Before he can even react, he reaches out and takes Peter's face in his hands.

"When we were in the nightmare, you said that the only thing that's real is us. You may not have realized it, but that's true. I promise you, I am not leaving you. Not now." He mentally adds, _"Because I love you too much to leave you."_ , even though he knows he'll never have the courage to say it out loud.

Peter's eyes shift back and forth across the other's features before he nods once, sniffles, and stands up.

2\. The fourth time was a small incident.

Sylar was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to figure out the sudoku, when Peter walks in carrying some grocery bags.

"Hey," he says, "I got you some apples, since I know you like them so much."

Sylar stares at the bag in Peter's hand and wonders how he got so damn lucky. Biting his lip to keep from proclaiming something he know he'll regret, he just smiles.

"How thoughtful, thank you."

Peter's face lights up and once again Sylar is reminded why he loves his roomie so much.

1\. The final time, they're both laying back on top of the apartment roof, staring out at the stars.

As beautiful as they are, though, Sylar can't help but steal glances to his friend a few inches away from him.

Peter has one hand laying next to his head, palm up, and the other resting on his stomach. His shirt has hitched up a little, revealing a peek of skin. His chest moves up and down with the steady rhythm of his breathing, and his eyes are cast skyward. His thoughts seem to be a mile away, and he worries his bottom lip with his teeth (like he always does).

"What are you thinking about?" Sylar asks, voice getting lost in the sound of the traffic.

Peter turns his head to face the other man and shrugs.

"I was just thinking how nice it is to have moments like this. You know, it's just so stressful sometimes." Shrugging again, he turns back to the sky and resumes chewing on his lip.

It would be a perfect moment to announce his feelings, but again, Sylar feels like it would be a really bad idea and frowns internally at his own cowardice.

He resists the urge to scoot closer and feel the body heat and compassion rolling off Peter in waves, and instead turns his face back to the cold, unfeeling sky.

0\. He's just finished vacuuming when a key turns in the lock. The door opens, and there's Emma and some other guy, holding Peter up.

Peter looks like hell, Sylar notes, and the other man drops the vacuum cord and hurries over.

"What's wrong?" he asks, and Emma's grip on Peter tightens.

"I don't know, Peter must have caught something. He's really sick."

Sylar moves out of the way as Emma and the other guy start leading his roommate into the apartment and into the living room.

"Here," he says, and takes over for Emma. They walk Peter into the bedroom and help him lay down. Peter's eyelids flutter as he feels the soft surface under his body.

"I checked him over, it looks like some virus. He should be okay in a few days, but until then, keep him here and watch over him," the guy tells Sylar.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sylar figures he must be Peter's partner at work, but the name escapes him.

Emma smiles up at Sylar.

"You know how Peter is. Make sure he gets rest and plenty of fluids."

The guy adds, "And keep him from the hospital. I know it'll be hard, since he's such a workaholic."

"Gabriel will manage, right?" Emma hugs Sylar and Sylar just nods.

He thanks them as they head out and shuts the door behind them. Frowning, he tip toes into the bedroom. Peter has curled up on his side, hugging his pillow. It takes some time, but he manages to slide the other's shoes, watch and belt off, then tucks some blankets around him.

Satisfied that Peter is resting, he quietly moves about the house, finding things that Peter will need, like medicine, water, a damp cloth, a thermometer.

He arranges them in a neat pile on the nightstand next to the bed, then stands in the doorway, watching.

His patient seems to be out cold.

Carefully, he sneaks into the room and sits at the foot of the bed. Casting his eyes downward, he whispers, "You have no idea how grateful I am you're letting me stay here, Peter. I mean, you've been so nice to me, and I don't even deserve it..."

He trails off and then takes a breath.

"I have to tell you something." He gingerly puts a hand on the sleeping man's calf.

"I think I fell in love with you during the nightmare. At first I thought it was because you were the only one there, but as time has gone on the feeling has stayed." A smile threatens to spread across his lips, and he continues.

"In fact, I think it's gotten worse. I'm crazy about you. You're all I think about anymore. I think it might be a little unhealthy, actually but...you know, never mind. The point I'm trying to make here is that I love you, and even if you don't love me back, I want to just...stay here. With you."

A soon as those last words leave his lips, Sylar feels like a huge weight has just been lifted from his chest. Standing up, he slowly makes his way over to the side of the bed that Peter is not laying on, and carefully lays down.

He closes his eyes, trying to will himself to get some sleep, when he hears,

"You know I'm not asleep, right?"

Jolting up, Sylar looks down at the person the noises have come from.

Peter has rolled onto his back and is looking up at him, nose red and stuffy and eyes half open.

"What?" Sylar panics, and Peter slides his hand over to entangle with the other's.

"Calm down, it's okay." A weak smile forms on the other's lips. "I love you too, although I really wish you would have told me sooner."

Sylar stares at their entwined hands for a moment before laying back down. Immediately Peter rolls over and buries himself into the taller man's chest.

A few minutes later, he really is asleep. Sylar listens to the even breaths escaping from a slightly stuffed up nose and tries not to laugh.

Who knew this whole time he was afraid of Peter rejecting him, when Peter was the one harboring infatuation for him?

He closes his eyes and lets sleep drift over him.

**Author's Note:**

> Written a long time ago for LJ.


End file.
